Microsoft Holds Back Bungie Announcement

E3 was supposed to be the staging point for the next Bungie bombshell but Microsoft was said to cut it to save time. Bungie had big plans to reveal some stuff they were working on and really take best in show for E3. Was it really cut because of time?

This sounds fabricated, cutting a huge announcement because of time constraints makes absolutely no sense. Imagine a firework show where you cut the grand finale because it would push the show over by a few minutes. Just dropping a title name or a 30 second teaser video would have taken a minute at most, we’re not looking for long winded explanations, just the facts.

Perhaps the real reason was Microsoft had it in their back pocket if people found the Netflix and Final Fantasy XIII news hum drum compared to anything Sony or Nintendo were to show off. Reacting dynamically to the news, perhaps they realized Sony didn’t have any epic announcements and Nintendo just showed up to hint at their future accessories. Microsoft’s haymaker of an announcement wasn’t needed to win the show this year.

Or, maybe the low turn out to the event just wouldn’t build enough hype for Microsoft’s big announcement. They could find a better outlet to turn on the hype and get people jazzed for the next Bungie product. Three years ago there is no doubt Microsoft would have come out fighting with all their weapons; this year Final Fantasy XIII was enough to show consumers that Sony’s lost their exclusives.

After the noise of E3 fades we’re sure to hear more from Bungie. We feel bad for the employees of Bungie who were ready to make the announcements on their work in progress. Sometimes, saving it for later is the best thing you can do; think of the anticipation that will build!

(Thanks, 1up)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Post

Ensemble Studios Had A MissionEnsemble Studios Had A Mission

In 1995 Ensemble Studios formed as an independent studio and kicked out a little game franchise known as Age of Empires. The title has received many accolades from the first in the franchise extended out to all the Age of Empires releases and spin-offs, all-in-all selling millions of copies.

Ensemble Studios had a mission “to create great games and a great place to work,” says Bruce Shelley from Ensemble Studios. Bruce Shelley also helped design Sid Meier’s Civilization and Railroad Tycoon with MicroProse prior to his work at Ensemble Studios. Now, however, he’s a bit upset at the closing of Ensemble Studios because they were profitable, created top-quality titles and had a great working environment.

Ensemble Studios, from his perspective at least, was a place you’d go to work and be happy with what you’re doing. When you’re working along nicely and become blind-sided by the news, it’s not surprising he didn’t take it lightly.

“Everyone at our studio was shocked, and I think remains very disappointed that this is going to happen. I believe we thought we were immune to shut-down talk because our published games have done so well and have been so profitable. Plus we felt we had built a really stable (low-turnover), talented, hard-working, and creative team, which is not easy to do. We thought we were among the best studios in the world, and that may be true, but we don’t fit in the future plans of MGS as an internal studio so we’re out.” (ensemblestudios.com)

What’s the future plans for Ensemble Studios? As we’ve stated before, they plan to live on in spirit, within the bounds of a new name and a new game plan. “I believe the spirit and mission of ES will be carried forward in this new company if enough of the key leaders agree to take part, which I expect to happen. There has been no announcement about what the new studio will be working on when it gets going,” says Shelley.

This is a horrible way to have to launch a hot new intellectual property. Usually creating a new title with a building fanbase would lead to excitement, parties and high hopes for the future of the franchise. Instead, people will be dusting off their resume in hopes to continue a life of game development.

Hopefully the leaders will indeed form a brand new company and build brand new hot products with their entire staff intact. Then, take their titles to a different publisher (besides Microsoft) and make some money and fans.

Microsoft Says 60 Percent of Wii Fits Collect DustMicrosoft Says 60 Percent of Wii Fits Collect Dust

Microsoft is on the attack, saying Nintendo has done a great thing with their Wii product line but Microsoft has a bit more “respect” for the new gamers they’re bringing into the industry. Xbox Europe VP David Gosen launched the shot over Nintendo’s bow at the GameFest UK keynote.

“We’ve seen some research that says 60 percent of people who bought a Wii Fit play it once and don’t play it again. So we have to get the balance right, because what we are doing is bringing new consumers into the market for the first time in their lives sometimes—and we have to treat them with respect,” Gosen told attendees. (shacknews)

In translation, developers should be building games with hot gameplay not quirky gimmicks. Basically, he’s of the opinion that Microsoft’s working towards creative unique game play elements and not really concentrating on niche products that are only fun for a week.

Nintendo and others are developing games to take advantage of the Wii Fit board, so not all is lost. As a matter of fact, statistics being gathered by Nintendo’s competitor really don’t hold any weight with us until they’ve references the third party statistics gathering who handled the facts. Otherwise, it’s just PR speak attacking their competitor (although they say Wii isn’t really a competitor) with no real facts or values.

Episode 245: Hello 2012Episode 245: Hello 2012

This week is double-stuffed full of goodness, with over two hours of podcast, as Jonah, Paul and Jordan cover not only the news of the last week, but also recap 2011, talking about games that pleased and disappointed them.

Aside from the biggest news of 2011, the current news items the gang listed to include:

  • Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony all pull support from SOPA – sort of
  • Wii U launch price expected to be $399
  • Guitar Hero may return in 2012
  • Judge ruling deals Silicon Knights a serious blow in suit against Epic Games
  • FlatOut 3 dev calls Modern Warfare 3 a “beta
  • Bioware defends The Old Republic subscription model, teases free-to-play for older IPs

The podcast also received a ton of new Reader Feedback, while the Question of the Week is “Which would you rather game on – a handheld console or a mobile device?”